Markus Ruhl

Markus Rühl (born 22 February 1972 in Darmstadt, Germany) is an IFBB professional bodybuilder. Rühl began training at the age of 19 following a doctor's recommendation after sustaining a knee injury while playing soccer. At 120 lb., Rühl began training hard six days a week until deciding to compete on a professional level four years later. During this period he worked as a used car salesman. He possesses some of the biggest shoulders in bodybuilding history, and is one of the strongest bodybuilders alive along with Johnnie O. Jackson, Dennis Wolf and Ronnie Coleman

Competitive Record

* 2009 Mr. Olympia - 15th

* 2009 New York Pro - 3rd,

* 2006 IFBB Austria Pro Grand Prix - 3rd

* 2006 Mr. Olympia - 8th AdLr

* 2005 Mr. Olympia - 15th

* 2004 Mr. Olympia - 5th

* 2003 Arnold Classic - 3rd

* 2002 Mr. Olympia - 8th

* 2002 Night of Champions XIV - 1st

* 2002 Toronto Pro Classic - 2nd

* 2001 Mr. Olympia - 14th

* 2000 MR OLYMPIA - 7th

* 2000 JOE WEIDER'S WORLD PRO CUP - 5th

* 2000 Grand Prix England - 5th

* 2000 Night of Champions - IFBB—2nd

* 2000 Toronto Pro - IFBB—1st

* 1999 Grand Prix England - IFBB—7th

* 1999 Joe Weiders Pro World - IFBB—7th

* 1999 Mr. Olympia - IFBB—10th

* 1999 Night of Champions - IFBB—4th


Stats

* Height: 5'10" (1.78 m)

* Off Season Weight: 320-340 lb. (145.14-154.22 kg)

* Competition Weight: 280-295lb. (130.4 kg)

* Arm Size: 24" (61 cm)(contest)

* Leg Size: 34" (86 cm)(contest)

* Chest Size: 60" (152 cm) Max Bench at 600lb.

How to Begin Body Building: Tips for Success

Bodybuilding Plan

The hard way means to go into the gym and start pounding the weights and equipment without knowing how to use it. The best way, or the easy way, is to prepare a proper well etched out plan for yourself. Start with a solid workout plan and get it all written down on paper.


Bodybuilding - Do Not Give Up

Preparing a workout plan is in many ways comparable to the sort of New Year resolution planning we all tend to do. Of course most of us tend to give up the resolutions within a day or two, but to achieve a well sculpted body there is no giving up.

Promises, also, are hard to keep, simply because we tend to make difficult promises. Most of us do not stick by the resolutions we make at the beginning of the year because our goals are not realistic. When we promise to quit smoking in the new year we ignore the fact that giving up smoking is a gradual process and needs time.

So the smart way to give up smoking would be to smoke about 4 cigarettes a day, then bring it down to 2 and so on. There is no point expecting to give up smoking just like that simply because we have promised to.



Bodybuilding Goal

Similarly, when you plan your bodybuilding regime keep in mind that it needs a set of achievable goals to really work out. You wont turn into a Stallone in a month so don't expect to. Give yourself a relaxed time limit of 6 months for that. Also, remember when you are just beginning you will not have the kind of stamina a professional athlete or an experience bodybuilder will have so don't get disheartened if you can't keep up. You have nothing to prove to anyone else so relax and progress slowly



Bodybuilding Regime

When you start your regime keep it to no more than 2 days in a week.
-Make sure you have at least 2 hours of time so that you don't have to hurry through the workout.
-Start with a few cardio exercises so as to charge your muscles up.
-Spend a bit of time on the treadmill or try some spinning, anything that will pump up your heart to about 80% of its usual capacity is a good choice.
-If you don't want to begin with the cardiovascular exercises make sure you do them after your exercise regime so as to help your body burn more fat.

Gain mass

Step 1



Measure your body fat percentage (using a body-fat analyzer or body-fat scale) before making dietary or exercise changes; this way you'll be able to track your progress.

Step 2



Strength train to build lean body mass. Work the major muscle groups, including the quadriceps (thighs), hamstrings, glutes (rear end), back, chest, shoulders, arms and abdominals. Look into home gyms that work as many different muscle groups as possible. Home gyms are frequently less expensive than a gym membership and more convenient to use.

Step 3



Realize there is no such thing as spot reducing. You can increase the strength of a certain part of your body, but unless you shed the overall excess body fat, you won't be able to see the definition.

Step 4



Expend more calories than you consume. Any activity, from mowing the lawn to vacuuming the carpet, burns calories and helps to create a caloric deficit, resulting in fat loss. Losing fat will help reveal your hidden muscles.

Step 5



Include cardiovascular training in your workout. Aerobic exercise will increase the number of calories you burn and enhance your endurance.

Step 6



Keep in mind that to lose one pound of fat, you have to create a calorie deficit of 3,500 calories. Reducing calorie consumption or increasing activity by 500 calories each day will result in one pound of fat loss per week. Keep an updated food and exercise journal to track your calorie intake and expenditure.

How to Increase Your Stamina Daily

Step 1



Make sure you're sleeping properly. In fact don't over sleep, that can make you tired as well. Your sleeping hours should be 8-9 hours, to get the proper stamina, and energy to get you through the day. Go to bed at consistent hours.

Step 2



Get enough fluids in you, especially water. Water gives you lasting energy and absorbs nutrients. Drink 8-10 glasses of cold water daily.

Step 3



Drink coffee in the morning. Don't rely strictly on caffeine, though. Caffeine will give you a quick fix, but it won't last daily, unless you just constantly drink caffeine all day, which isn't very healthy and leads to sleeping problems. Red Bull isn't bad, too. I guess this is a way to start the morning off, but don't drink coffee throughout the day.

Step 4





Start to workout. Believe it or not, it does give you more energy. It's okay to be active. Working out requires energy.

Step 5



Take breaks. Don't work nonstop and over do it. Have moments to relax and enjoy yourself in the day. Take a moment to clear your mind. Stress can cause lack-of energy.

Step 6




Start eating better and take vitamins for energy. You can find a lot of vitamins that boost your stamina, like Vitamin B, B3-Niacin, Folic Acid. Start eating more fruits and vegetables as well. Avoid drinking a lot of alcohol. Find some energy bars, the seem to help as well.

Step 7



Eat breakfast in the morning. Breakfast is the most important meal and gives you the energy you need to start the day off right. Going an entire day on an empty stomach is tiring. Eat a healthy breakfast in the morning.

Step 8




Take Virgin Coconut Oil. I'm finding out so many benefits from Virgin Coconut Oil, this is useful as an energy diet. This in fact gives you a lot more energy and nutrition. Overall very healthy for your diet. Check more article of mine, to find out more about Virgin Coconut oil.

2009 IFBB Iron Man

THE 20TH ANNUAL IRON MAN PRO! HISTORIC EVENT.

This annual Californian Pro event was held, along with the LA FIT EXPO, in the Los Angeles Convention Center on January 24th.

The show opened with Lonnie Teper’s tribute to the winners of the Iron Man contests over the past 19 years as a prelude to this the 20th year of the event. The past winners who were present were then presented on stage such as Shawn Ray, Chris Cormier, Flex Wheeler, Jay Cutler, Dexter Jackson and Phil Heath. This was a special moment for a group photograph with contest promoter John Balik.

There were 28 competitors from 14 countries making this an extremely even lineup. The top five were as follows:

1. Silvio Samuel - Spain
2. Moe Elmoussawi - NZ
3. Ronny Rockel - Germany
4. Hidetada Yamagishi - Japan
5. Ahmad Haidar - Lebanon


1 Silvio Samuel



2Moe Elmoussawi



3Ronny Rockel



4 Hidetada Yamagishi



5 Ahmad Haidar


6 Eddie Abbew



7 Mohammad Bannout



8 Mark Dugdale



9 Marcus Haley


10 Johnnie Jackson



11 Troy Alves



12 Oliver Adzievski




13 Martin Kjellstrom




14 Thomas Benagli



15 Constantino Demetriou

16 Adorthus Cherry

16 Aiman Faour

16 Cesar Mendible-Baptista

16 Daron Lytle

16 DeShaun Grimez

16 Don Long

16 Evgeny Mishin

16 Fedel Clarke

16 Marc Lavoie

16 Oleg Empelyanov

16 Omar Deckard

16 Rusty Jeffers

16 Tamer El Shahat